tiny blue flowers

photograph by rinne allen

a beautiful shack

well, we all know about my shack habit. this weekend i had a craving, so i drove up towards maysville and gillsville on a grey day. i found some treasures. i'm going back for more soon!

here is a little shack on the property of an old farm. i love how it looks like a corbet painting.

words and photographs by rebecca wood

icicles

photograph by rebecca wood

stately home

usually, houses are built on a rise, but for some reason, this one is on stilts in a hollow. must have been a reason. anyway, it's grand and stately in its setting, and is quite prominent sitting at a crossroads.

words and photographs by rebecca wood

winter branches

photograph by kristin karch

mandy's anemones pt.2

words and photographs by rinne allen

burnt wall

photo by kristen bach

spiced rainbow carrots

i love making colorful food.  rainbow carrots, sign me up!  this is an easy recipe that I love to serve as a side or add to some beans.  For this one i added my carrots to a tangine of sorts.  a mix of onions, apricots, raisins, and garbanzo beans.  a lovely meal indeed.

spiced rainbow carrots

-pre-heat oven to 400 degrees  -peel and slice your rainbow carrots (regular carrots will due)   -toss in 1 TBSP melted coconut oil.  -sprinkle in your spices....depending on which direction you are heading with your meal.  for this i used some a blend of moroccan spices.   -sprinkle with salt  -roast until tender, about 20 minutes  -remove from heat and squeeze a fresh lemon, optional

rust and wood

photograph by rebecca wood

the 'to do list' show

in december, our friend didi dunphy organized another great show here in athens. she invited 28 artists to keep a 'to do' list from december and into january...on an oversized sheet of notebook paper that she printed over at double dutch press. then, she installed all of the artists' lists at the lamar dodd school of art on the uga campus. it was interesting to see what each artist did; some kept real lists of all that had to do...others turned the lists into something else. i was one of the participating artists and i really loved thinking about how i spend my time...although, in essence, the list i created was about looking at the bigger picture, rather than mundane day to day tasks...and, full confession, it was a little bit about procrastination, too...

words by rinne allen, photographs by kristin karch

in the backyard

photograph by kristin karch

all that's left

when the whole house finally falls down and disintegrates into earth again, the chimney remains. what was left of this house had been bulldozed into a nearby pile and burned. usually, people will just leave the chimneys till they eventually fall down on their own. until then, they are sentinels to the  memory that a life was lived there.

words and photographs by rebecca wood

aged brick

photography by kristin karch

deserted

near an old farmstead i spied this one a little further down the red dirt road. no chimneys. now it's full of old posts and lumber. still sitting under the pecan trees like it always has.

words and photographs by rebecca wood

warm light

photograph by kristin karch

mandy's anemones pt.1

mandy made another beautiful arrangement last week...you can see a full photo of the arrangement on  from a week ago, but, today, i wanted to share images from after the arrangements were taken apart...mandy grew these anemones in the greenhouse at 3 porch farm. enjoy looking at them...next week, we will look at them again, in a different way...

photographs and words by rinne allen

making simple soap

a few years ago i purchased some soap base so i could make my own soap.  i know this might be cheating a little bit and isn't really making soap from scratch but it is what my life has time for these days.  i love filling my house with warming smells and we get a months worth of soap out of each batch and some to give friends and neighbors. 

this weekend i made some of my favorite blend and is one that i make most often.  All you need is a soap base, lavender oil, patchouli oil, and some dried lavender flowers.  it's such a simple way to have good soap all of the time.

the wanderer blend soap

2 pound block of soap base, I purchase mine here  (there are many varieties, try them out and find your fav)

1 1/2 teaspoon of lavender oil

1/2 teaspoon patchouli oil

1 teaspoon dried lavender, optional

>>>>

-In a double broiler, melt your soap base, it may take 20-30 minutes

-when base is completely melted, add oils and stir until mixed

-pour your mixture into a soap mold, I use a simple rectangular bar mold

-sprinkle dried blooms

-wait a few hours or overnight to cut your bars

recipe and photos by kristen bach

microgreens

photograph by rinne allen

2015 georgia organics conference

last weekend, georgia organics held their annual conference in athens. it was a weekend full of learning and inspiration, and meeting great people. i traveled around to many of the farm tours to take photographs for georgia organics and wanted to share a sampling here...there were many other inspiring farms on tour this same morning!

first stop on the farm tour, little flock, part of the community meat co:
 

then, we saw our friends at mills farm, home of red mule grits:

then, we were on to woodland gardens:

and, then, the day ended with lunch at the west broad market garden:

photographs by rinne allen